Sword Art Online: Knights Of The Forlorn Hope
by LumosAstral
Summary: In the world of Aincrad, there exists limitless tales of the adventurers who risk everything to escape. Some find release in death, others to despair and others persevere and fight on, no matter the sacrifice. This tale spans the first to the last days of Aincrad, of the tale of those who risked their lives, some dying, some surviving. They are the Knights of the Forlorn Hope.
1. Before The Storm

_Author's Note:_

_So yeah, first actual fiction writing attempt for SAO, comments, whether flame or constructive is fine. I realize it might not be the best out there, but give it a try, I'll probably upload on a weekly basis, once every two if I'm busy._

**Chapter 1: Before The Storm**

First Floor: Starting City

Date: November 6th 2024

"No way." I mused, looking around at the new, unusual yet beautiful and ancient structures. Buildings of smoothly chiseled rock created safe yet imposing buildings. Wooden stalls with colorful cloth tarps that kept the sun and rain out were littered along the roadside to my far left and right. Dozens of people, in various colors of the same type of rural looking clothing were in the gigantic square with me, all looking around, amazement and wonder clearly written on their faces.

I took several steps forward, listening to the scuffling of boots against the cobbled and well-worn streets of the city, drinking in the picturesque cityscape that enclosed me on all sides. The sun was in the middle of the noonday sky, surrounded by pristine white clouds and clear blue skies, the faint outline of a ceiling above my head.

Continuing my tour of the city, I headed down a side street, my hand dragging along the cool stone walls, feeling every single bump and crack in the weathered stone. "Everything seems so real here." I mused, strolling down the streets.

In front of me, I watched several players fumbling around, both admiring the view and figuring out where to go. Oddly, one pealed away from the group, quickly rushing towards a shop where the sound of metal striking metal rang loud and clear through the smaller square.

Piquing my interest, I trailed behind him, watching him move with confidence, manipulating the screen with an easy, practiced grace. He soon bought an assortment of items, storing all of them and heading out. I quickly followed him, weighing the probability he'd help me. _'Maybe I shouldn't have changed genders, but god, I hate perverts.'_ I grumbled inwardly, walking up to him. "Hey," I started, managing to catch his attention, but my voice, deeper and more masculine, caught me by surprise.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning to face me, giving me a good view of his features. He had the air and the build of the typical anime protagonist, thin but not muscular nor malnourished with a head of neatly combed hair the color of the night sky. Eyes the color and shape of almonds looked at me rather curiously, but instantly trailed away. "Can I help with something?" he asked, shaking me from my scrutiny.

"Oh. Are you, by any chance, a Beta Tester?" I asked, waiting rather uncomfortably for the reply, shifting my weight in anticipation.

He blinked, "Yeah. Anything you need?"

I nodded, relieved to find a friendly face, "Yeah. Obviously I'm new here, can you help a newbie out and show me the ropes?" I asked. "I'm Freya, yeah, I get you find the name weird." I added, noting the questioning look he gave me.

"I-I'm Coper." he said, now slightly caught off guard. "W-was there a spellcheck error? In your character's name, I mean." he added hastily.

I shrugged, both embarrassed and relieved, "Y-you could say that." I said, scratching the back of my head sheepishly.

He shook his head, "First off, what do you plan to use as a weapon?" he asked, now in the act of being a confident Beta Tester, probably to impress the newbie. I'm pretty sure I gave a blank look, because he sighed and continued. "Weapons are the most fundamental part of SAO, they allow you to attack and deal damage to the monsters. Swords, probably the most common weapons you'll ever find in a fantasy-medieval style game like this, require strength and agility in equal measure for maximum effectiveness." he said, bringing out his own sword, a simple, unassuming blade. It was about four feet in length from end to end, with a grip of brown leather and a simple length of plain metal to guard the fingers.

"So they're the trademark of SAO, it's in the name." I mused, earning a nod from him.

"Next, but I have no expertise in this area, daggers. They use high speed to attack targets and run away, to avoid fights. They rely on almost pure speed, so a full agility build is the best choice." he said. "Following that, rapiers, spears and other quick weapons use Agility for maximum effectiveness." he said.

"Get in and out before the enemy gets to you." I offered, with another nod.

"Right. There are also larger weapons, like axes, maces, mauls, hammers, two handed weapons and larger. They use strength to equip heavier armor and wield the large weapons, usually in conjunction with a shield." he said.

"Hit them hard, make sure they don't get back up." I commented, a grin forming on his lips.

"With that, have you decided on a course, because you need to assign a skill pertaining to that weapon to use it and its trademark skills along with your stat points." he said.

"Let's see how I do with a sword then." I grinned wolfishly.

He nodded, rubbing his hands together, "Then let's get started, shall we?" he grinned, leading me to the blacksmith.

Inside, it was rather hot and loud, with a large man in a leather apron hammering a piece of metal into the shape of a blade. I watched, entranced for the moment, as the metal sang in his grip, taking shape as an artist would a brush, he did with the hammer and anvil. "Can I help you travelers?" he asked, turning to face us.

"Yes." I said, considering everything seemed real, might as well act the part. "I'd like to see your wares." I said, a menu opening before me with a soft chiming sound.

The screen was filled with names and status bars, damage indicators and all manner of information. I dragged the screen down, finding Steel Blade in the menu. Pressing the name, it showed the damage and other information I couldn't process at the moment.

"That'll be five hundred col." he said, the axe appearing on a separate screen, along with its price tag, like a receipt. I looked at the tag and saw my money at one thousand col. I nodded, looking around for armor next, as Coper had said.

I scrolled down a different tab, scrolling though the menu and came across something that I could actually afford in the tab, Iron Breastplate it read, along with its price tag of two hundred col.

Sighing, I shelled out all my money and received my equipment with another chime. "Gee, I have no more cash." I sighed, slightly deflated with myself for spending everything.

Coper laughed and clapped me on the shoulder, "Come on, get that gear on and let's go earn your money back." he said.

I nodded, walking out with him, _'Maybe this won't be so bad.' _I thought to myself as we headed for a nearby inn. "Inns are the safest places in any city. You can logout safely from here without your avatar laying vulnerable for a bit, you can also rent a room to use for yourself and buy food and traveling gear from the general goods on the first floor." he said, gesturing to the simple wooden lodge.

"Thanks." I said, not knowing what else to say.

Within the wooden walls, a fire burned happily in one corner in a brick fireplace, warming me as I stepped in, followed by Coper. He pointed to a room, "Change there, I'll be here." he said, settling down in a chair near the fire.

I looked around, taking in the changing room, which was a large room with several curtained changing areas and a large central fire pit that kept the room nice and warm.

Entering one of the changing areas, I looked into the glass mirror framed by dark wood, inspecting the avatar I had created for myself. A typical warrior in most games, standing at six feet tall with broad shoulders and slightly muscled body. A giant by most standards, but it felt good to be taller than others once in a while. I, or rather my avatar, wore dark leather pants and boots of the same color and a white tunic of rather coarse wool.

Opening my menu, I scrolled down and checked the Status of my character, placing two of the three points into Agility and the last one into Strength. I looked over the other tabs, finding Inventory after a brief search.

Equipping the sword and armor was similar to other games I tried, pressing Materialize after highlighting the item with another quick poke at the holographic menu. The armor was simple, a band of metal that went around the upper torso in a single rigid piece. The sword was exactly the one Coper had, a four foot long blade with a crosspiece of another bar of metal and a longer grip, possibly for two or one handed swinging.

I drew the blade with one hand, listening to the slither of metal on the leather scabbard at the left side of my waist, the weight transferring from hip to hand as the tip of the blade cleared the scabbard's metal lip with a slight hiss. Clumsily, I drew the blade up to the light, admiring the metal's sheen as rays of fiery light played against its surface, staining it bright orange and red before I sheathed it again and left to find Coper.


	2. Interlude: A Promise

**_Author's Note: I apologize for the long . . . alright, extremely long delay and a super short chapter, but this is a launch off point for the rest of the book. As my studies have to come first, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for your cooperation. As always R&R._**

First Floor: Starting City - King's Highway

Date: November 6th - 7th 2024

I stood, alone, amidst the panic. Disbelief kept my my mind in stasis, panic held my limbs in rigid shock, fear grasped at my heart and turning my tongue to lead. _'No, this is a joke. All a joke. An event, a glitch.' _ came the cloudy words into my mind, my limbs unlocking and trembling at this realization. "This is real." I mumbled to myself, now on my knees in the plaza where everyone gathered via teleport of some kind.

"Coper?" I called weakly, looking around, finding no one. The one who taught me, who helped me, had just run away. I felt tears welling up as the mad stampede turned to fearful protest, then to silence.

The first death wasn't even a monster, or a duel that went wrong, or even a malfunction or someone pulling the plug.

It was suicide.

Standing in disbelief, I found it on the wall, a name was crossed and blurred out, illegible now. The reason remained, clear as the rest of the names. Falling in midair. _'What did it feel like? Falling and falling, until he realized there was nothing there, and continuing to fall.' _I thought as my mouth went dry. "Maybe he escaped." I croaked, looking around hopefully for the rest of us to disappear, for me to wake up and have this nightmare over with.

Silence was the world's reply.

"What a waste." "Suicide." "No escape." "Dead." "This can't be happening." along with hundreds of other murmurs, whispers, yells and screams of all kind echoed throughout the city.

I stood there, unmoving, debating with myself. _'If I fight, there's a good chance I'll die. But I'll never be able to forgive myself for being so weak. If I don't, I'll live, but for who knows how long and I'll run out of money, but I can do jobs that don't require killing.' _I thought, looking up at the twilight skies as they cast their pale luminescence on the slowly sleeping world below.

Clenching my fist, the choice was rather obvious, "I'm not sitting around like some weak kid, I'm fighting, and I'm getting out of here." I muttered to myself as I turned away, heading once more to the central plaza, where it all began.

I strode away from the masses, away from the noise I now found annoying, pitiful, weak. The exit gate was wide open, the setting sun was picturesque, hanging in the void between this floor and the next. Smiling at the sight, yet frowning at the thought of my parents, worried sick about me by now.

"Mom, dad. I'm definitely coming back." I promised to the sky, looking up at the amber clouds, drifting lazily as I walked forward with a new sense of purpose. Once on the road, I found a Frenzy Boar, a small blue creature with glowing red eyes. Giving a raw yell from my throat, I pulled my sword back as it charged at me, the sword crackling with blue light as a notification popped up Sword Skill: Rage Spike and I rocketed forward, the sword slashing effortlessly into the creature's side.

Nearly a minute later, I watched as the boar gave a high squeal and blew apart in an infinity of polygons and pixels with the ring of shattering glass, rising and dissipating into the twilight sky as I lowered my sword, trembling slightly. "It's a game . . . but why does killing still seem so wrong?" I sighed as I trudged towards the next boar, mechanically repeating the process several times until the stars began to peek out from beyond the firmament of the dark heavens.

Hurrying back, I sheathed the sword quickly and made a beeline towards the nearest inn, passing all the other players without a glance. Survival, at that moment, was the only thing that mattered, I'll worry about being human later.

At the back of my mind, a thought gnawed at the back of my mind, would I ever get home?


End file.
